Nathaniel whitmore



tion through the forming tube.

UNITED' sTATEs PATENT oEEioE.

XATHANIEL WHITMORE, OF SOMERVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELFAND G. W. KEENE. Y

MAKING COP-TUBES.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 16,363, dated January 6, 1857.

To all whom 'Lt may concern:

Be it known that I, NATHANIEL VHiT- MORE, of Somerville, in the countyof Middlesex-and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Machines for Making Cop-Tubes, of which thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being hadto the annexed drawings, making part of this specification, in which-Figure l is a plan. Fig. 2 a section upon the line A A of Fig. 1. Fig. 3a vertical sec- Figs. 4, 5 6 7 and S details which will be referred tohereafter.

In the Letters Patent granted to me on the 12th June 1847 for machineryfor making cop tubes, the tubes were formed by dies of peculiarconstruction, requiring care to keep them in order, and complicatedmachinery for their operation, in my improved machine, the tube isformed by forcing the piece of sheet metal into, and through a hollowconical tube in a manner which will now be particularly set forth.

My invention also consists in the use of grooved rollers for the purposeof closing and perfecting the tube and also in a peculiar form of stepfor the purpose of supporting the end of the tube while it is beingflanged. These improvements are all applicable to machines which areautomatic in their operation, and are actuated by power, the machinehowever which is represented inthe accompanying drawings is a handmachine, the operation of which I will now proceed to describe.

B, is the bed of the machine from `which rise the standards E and F,whichsupport the operating p'arts. projecting from the standard E, issupported the hollow cone or funnel H, upon one side of which is thebacking b, which partially fills the cavity of the cone, the form ofthis cavity may be understood by a reference to Figs. 5, 6, 7 and 8which represent sections upon the lines I, 2, 3, and 4 of Fig. 2. Fig. 3is a longitudinal sect-ion through the tube showing the depression CZ,in the backing for the accommodation of the large portion of the spindleI, which Upon a bracket Gr,

its smaller portion is above t-he top of the tube and a suitably formedpiece of sheet metal is placed at the mouth of the tube as indicated bythe red lines in Fig. 3. In automatic machines, the edges f, may formthe jaws of the shears used to prepare the blanks. The spindle is nowdepressed, the small por` tion g, passing in front of the blank, and theshoulder z' resting against its top edge; as the spindle continues todescend, the blank is caused to bend around into the funnel and by thetime it reaches the bottom of the funnel, it has assumed the form of atube, which by the continued descent of the spindle is carried betweenthe grooved rolls K* here the tube is closed and perfected, a lip Z,upon one of the rolls serving to bring together the eXtreme upper edgeof the blank, this roll being held in the required position by thespring x. In power machines, this lip may be dispensed with and therolls K, may be caused to make a partial revolution after the tube isforced between them, and thus draw it slightly off the spindle and closethe edges near the upper end. The rolls are now caused to recede fromeach, the rods L, which hold them, being allowed to slide in thestandards E, and F, after the levers M, which confine them, are movedout of the way as the spindle continues to descend, it carries the tubeinto the receiver N, in which it is flanged, during which operation thebottom of the tube is supported by a peculiarly formed step. This stepconsists of a steel tube O, upon the top of a rod P the positionvertically of which is adjusted by the screw Q, during the action offlanging the tube, the latter rests against the top edge of the step atm; the spindle entering into its cavity; and at the nal instant of thedescent of the spindle, the tube being prevented from opening by thereceiver N, the iange upon its top is formed by the shoulder i, upon thespindle, as seen in Fig. 4, during this operation, the receiver is heldrigidly by the block R, but upon the compley tion of the tube, thisblock is withdrawn and the receiver is allowed to descend, leaving thetube standing upon the top of the step.

The various motions of the machine may l be performed by hand, or themachine may is supported in a suitable bracket X, in which it slides.This spindle is raised until be made to perform them automatically in lthe proper order, these motions and the method of performing them formno part of 2. I claim the tubular step for the sup- 10 my presentinvention and need not be further port of the tube While it is being`flanged in dwelt upon et present. combination With the receiver N,operating What I claim as my invention and desire in the mannersubstantially as herein set to secure by Letters Patent, isforth.

l. The tube II with its backing b, in com- NATHL. WHITMORE binaton withthe spindle I operating in the Vitnesses: manner substantially as setforth for the THos. R. ROACH, purpose specified. P. E. TESCHEMACHER.

